Tritium removal from JET and TFTR tiles by a scanning laser

Fast and efficient tritium removal is needed for future DT machines with carbon plasma facing components. A novel method for tritium release has been demonstrated on codeposited layers on tiles retrieved from the Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor (TFTR) and from the Joint European Torus (JET). A scanning continuous wave Nd laser beam was focused to ≈100 W/mm2 and scanned at high speed over the codeposits, heating them to temperatures ≈2000 °C for about 10 ms in either air or argon atmospheres. Up to 87% of the codeposited tritium was thermally desorbed from the JET and TFTR samples. Fiber optic coupling between the laser and scanner was implemented. This technique appears to be a promising in situ method for tritium removal in a next step DT device as it does not rely on oxidation, and avoids the associated deconditioning of the plasma facing surfaces and the expense of processing large quantities of tritium oxide.